The Pros and Cons of a Honda Rebel – an owner’s semi-biased review

Okay, I’m not claiming that I’m not going to be biased toward this bike. It’s been my sole transportation for two and a half years, and I really love it. I can definitely tell what I like the most about it and what I don’t, though. Bear in mind, many of the issues I’ve had with my bike are previous-owner related.

Pros:

It gets great gas mileage.

It’s relatively reliable (despite the problems I’ve had with it).

It’s inexpensive to fix, and parts from eBay tend to be cheap.

It goes fast enough for the highway.

It’s fun. The bike is nimble, can easily handle the road test, and it’s fun for beginners.

It’s lightweight. When you drop it, or it just “falls over,” you won’t have a difficult time picking it back up.

Insurance is cheap! (if you don’t believe me, try getting a quote for any midsize or larger sport bike)

Cons:

While it’s fast enough to go the speed limit and over (depending on how much it’s hauling, and your gearing), you still can’t keep up with the jerks who fly by on the right.

The built-for-it aftermarket parts are lacking. There’s a few luggage racks, and a couple crash bar/highway peg options, but compared to what’s available, for example, the Honda Shadow, there’s nothing.